The Rise of the European Emperor

Long before the war with Denmark, Marin was willing to help Sweden develop the copper mine in Fällen. Because, Marin knows, Sweden now has no source of financial revenue. If it only depends on Lübeck and his own sponsorship, it is not a problem.

Therefore, Marin had already talked to old Sten Stuley, and he provided the manpower and equipment to help develop the super-large copper mine in Fayilun. The income obtained is five to five to half points. However, the investment in the development of copper mines comes from Marin.

In fact, old Sten Stulay did not realize that the Fayilun Copper Mine was an extra-large copper mine, but thought it was just an ordinary copper mine. Therefore, I feel a little embarrassed about the half points that Marin asked for, and I plan to only collect taxes.

By convention, the official European tax rate for precious metal deposits such as gold, silver and copper is 10% to 20%. Marin intends to give half of the proceeds to the Swedish government, naturally tax-free. In this way, Marin is equivalent to taking 30% less profit. However, it funded Sweden in disguise. So that Sweden has enough financial strength to deal with possible Danish retaliation.

You must know that Sweden has a high latitude, and only the southern regions are suitable for a little agriculture. As for the northern regions, especially those north of the Arctic Circle, the Swedes have not developed them at all. Only the Sami live in the northern regions.

Under such circumstances, Sweden has basically no source of fiscal revenue. Therefore, Sweden looks bigger than Denmark, but financially, it can't keep up with Denmark.

Even before the Four-Power Alliance attacked Denmark, the areas on the southern coast of Sweden suitable for agriculture and trade were all under the control of the Danes.

In the original history, Sweden has never been an opponent of Denmark. It was not until the Fayilun copper mine was developed that Sweden had enough financial resources to organize an army to compete with Denmark. The world-famous Gustav II would not be able to participate in Germany's "Thirty Years War" if it weren't for the huge profits of the Falun Copper Mine. After all, Sweden wants agriculture without agriculture and trade without trade, almost nothing. Without the support of the Fayilun Copper Mine, Sweden's finances would be almost nothing...

Sweden is now, even after taking back the southern regions from Denmark. However, the financial situation remains poor. Although it is said that there are some iron ore mining and smelting, but the scale is not large and the profit is not much. There is more wood, but mostly pine and less oak. Pine is not as popular as oak and is generally used to make furniture or to extract rosin. Of course, pine can also be used for decks and masts when building boats. Mainly, oak is resistant to seawater corrosion, while pine is not resistant to seawater corrosion, and can only be used to create parts above water that are not in contact with seawater.

Long before returning from Copenhagen, Marin signed a written agreement with the old Sten Stuley, and Marin sent someone to develop the Falun copper mine, and half of the proceeds belonged to the Swedish government. At the same time, the operation of copper mines is tax-free. Because the mining tax is included in that half of the income...

In addition, Swedish officials are not allowed to interfere with the operation of the Fayilun copper mine. In this way, Marin can control the operation and sales of the Fayilun copper mine. Of course, if the Swedish government needs to purchase copper, Marin must supply it, and it has to be supplied at a preferential price.

Before that, Marin had already sent Kohler to find someone to go to southern Austria to recruit engineers to start and smelt copper mines. Austria is just below the Alps and has many copper and silver mines. Therefore, there are many related craftsmen here. The southern region of Germany has always been a region with relatively developed handicraft industries in Europe. The handicrafts and mining industries here are relatively advanced. Bohemia and Austria have always been important sources of precious metals in Europe. The craftsmen here are also of a very high level.

Moreover, in Austria, Maximilian I used a mortgage loan to mortgage the largest copper mine in Europe at this time, the Tyrolean copper mine, to the richest man in Shinra, Jacob Fugger.

At this time, the price of copper in Europe was very expensive. Out of businessman nature, Jacob Fugger believes that European copper prices are not high enough.

And copper prices are not going up because copper production is too high. Therefore, the first native of Shinra, Jacob Fugger, closed some mines and reduced the production of the Tyrolean copper mine. In this way, the supply of copper is less, and the price will naturally rise.

However, as a result, some of the engineers and miners of the Tyrolean copper mines have lost their jobs...

Taking this opportunity, the people Kohler sent in the past directly recruited those unemployed engineers with high salaries. In addition, some experienced miners were also recruited to act as foremen and masters to guide the Swedes in the Fayilun Copper Mine... After all, the work of mining requires the leadership and guidance of experienced miners...

Of course, mining is not that simple. Not only engineers and miners are needed, but also smelting equipment to turn copper ore into copper.

To this end, Marin also got the most old-fashioned blast furnace for copper smelting. The blast furnace "designed" by Malin is a simple blast furnace built in the "big steelmaking" period in the back hill of his hometown in his previous life. It has a simple structure and occupies a small area. Relatively versatile, it can not only smelt steel, but also smelt non-ferrous metals such as copper. However, after the "big steelmaking" was over, the blast furnace was abandoned in the back mountain and became a scenic spot. When Marin was a child, he often went to play on the bare top of the back mountain. Naturally, he remembered the structure of the blast furnace, and he often played with the bellows of the blast furnace.

However, this kind of manual blast furnace, which looks extremely backward in the eyes of Marin and later generations, is "high-end equipment" in Europe in this era... It is used to smelt copper, and the effect is very good...

Sweden has nothing else, that is, there is a lot of wood, and it is very convenient to burn charcoal. At that time, it is very convenient to use charcoal as a reducing agent in a blast furnace.

The only inconvenience is probably the traffic problem. Sweden is a relatively late development area, and there are fewer Roman Avenues. Moreover, it is said that the Fayilun area is located in the central area of ​​Sweden, with mountains and rivers... If it is bad, it will be bad if there are mountains and water... Because it is difficult to repair roads...

Therefore, the copper mine in Fayilun has not been discovered and developed for a long time. Only in the coastal plains, Sweden is more densely populated.

Therefore, it is also a big trouble to develop the Falilun Copper Mine without solving the transportation problem...

But who cares, as long as a large number of blast furnaces are erected on the spot in the Fayilun area to smelt copper, even if the transportation cost is high, it doesn't matter. Because copper is also considered a precious metal in Europe at this time, and the price is expensive...

According to the intelligence sent back by the subordinates sent to Sweden, the closest city to the Faylon area is Gavle, the eastern port of Sweden, only a few dozen kilometers away from Fayilun. However, this is only a few dozen kilometers, full of mountains and lakes. It seems that it is not difficult to open up a road from Fallon to Gevle...

However, as long as this road is established, the development of the Fayilun Copper Mine will be easy. Because there is a blast furnace, and a group of skilled craftsmen directs reasonable mining. It is certain that the copper output of the Fayilun Copper Mine will not be low in the future. As long as the road is clear, it can be shipped to Gavle and shipped directly to East Friesland. Whether it is used for casting guns or other functions, it is a very good choice.

Moreover, if you take it out and sell it, the profit is also very considerable. After all, copper is so expensive in Europe right now...

Although, it may be cheaper to buy copper from India. But the problem is that the cycle to India is too long, and it takes nearly two years to run a round trip. If you need copper urgently, you may not be able to wait. This is also an important reason why Marin asked the fertilizer processing plant to add a process to collect nitrate.

Moreover, ocean shipping is not very safe. If the copper-carrying ship encountered a strong storm and sank unfortunately, it would be dumbfounded...

Therefore, it is necessary to develop a large copper mine in mainland Europe. In this way, you can also ensure that you will not have a copper shortage. Even if there is an accident on the copper ship to India, there will be no major problem.